Times Ten
by liveforthefight
Summary: What if Marshall hadn't answered his phone in Womb with a View? What would Mary have said if she hadn't had to rush off and coach Grace through labor? Oneshot, M/M fluff. Mary's language is...you know... no other adult content.


A/N: Yes, another oneshot… Yes, another Season four one shot… Yes, I'm once again pushing off my other story because of a whim. Sorry guys, the plot bunnies just won't leave me alone.

"It's just hard for me to go on about being there for Grace without making it clear to you that the same goes for you…times ten."

Mary shook her head and sighed. "Marshall, I just…"

I saw the emotions running across her face, and I wasn't sure if my statement, or the situation, or some combination of both caused them to surface. Of course, my phone chose that moment to ring. "Ignore that," I said, "you just…what?"

She grabbed my hand gently and led me over to the stairs out of the store, sitting down, taking a deep breath before speaking again, and hugging her arms across her chest as best she could around her eight month pregnancy. "I just… I'm not sure anymore." Her voice broke slightly, and her arms clenched around herself just a little more tightly, as if she was trying to hold herself together.

I put my hand on her knee. "Sure of what? The adoption? The Templetons?" I hesitated a moment before asking "Mark?"

"All of it. I don't know… The Templetons have this god awful truck, and I always thought I'd be a terrible mother then I see Grace, the ex drug dealer ready to give it a go and she seems like she's doing an okay job of it, then again I mean she hasn't popped the thing out yet, but still, if she can do it, maybe I can… Then again, she's perfectly capable of screwing it up royally, and so am I. Jesus, I could end up like another Jinx, and… I never wanted to bring a kid into this fucked up world, but one way or another I'm going to now and I feel like, since it's too late to go back and change that, I'm damn well better suited to protect it than some cardboard cut-out family that drives a truck out of a slasher film."

I listened to her, knowing that she was just speaking everything that was going through her mind rather than trying to put it into any rational order. That was the way with Mary during the rare moments that she allowed herself to express emotion through more than physical force or a sarcastic comment here and there. "Well," I said jokingly, "at least you learned to be the river."

She smacked me on the arm halfheartedly. "Oh and then…" she said, in a much softer tone, "there's this other thing…" she trailed off.

I raised an eyebrow. "What kind of other thing?" I asked softly.

She stared pointedly at the wall in front of us, which told me more about the difficulty of what she was about to say than any amount of words could. She had a habit of avoiding eye contact like the plague when she was most vulnerable. "I know this guy… and… he's been great…about all of this, and that made me realize that I had…feelings…for him, and I know he used to have feelings for me, but now he's seeing someone, and this" she gestured at her abdomen, "has made me realize more than ever how much I need him in every aspect of my life, but I don't want to be the selfish bitch who takes away his happiness."

She looked up at me questioningly, while I tried not to stare at her in absolute wonder. "Unless," I continued his statement, "that man was only involved with someone else in a failing attempt to be happy with someone else in lieu of being with you. Mare…are you saying what I think you're saying?"

I turned her head slightly so she was looking at me. "Marshall…why are you with Abigail?"

I sighed. "After you went on vacation with Faber, I forced myself to try to accept that you would never feel the same way about me as I did about you, and I knew that if there even was a way I could stop feeling that way about you, it would be to try to feel that way about somebody else. So I started dating Abigail. She's nice, funny, and a cop, so she understands my job, but she's…very, very young…and…she's not you. I like her, but I don't love her, and I don't think I ever will, but I was willing to go through the motions with her because she's in love with me and because something is better than nothing."

She leaned in, slowly, giving me plenty of time to pull away if I wanted to, and kissed me. "Marshall… I think I finally realized what you were trying to tell me all along. I need messy."

I sputtered a moment, before managing "you know, this is the second time you've rendered me speechless…"

She smirked. "It's like I told you, verbally impotent. Then again, I guess that's better than…other types of impotent. Oh god, you are…capable of…you know…right?"

I smiled in what I hoped was a creepy way. "Oh trust me, my guys can swim."

Mary scoffed. "Okay. Well, that's good. I mean, in case we ever want to do…" she gestured at her stomach again, "this…again. Speaking of which, what are we going to do about it THIS time?"

I grasped her hand. "Whatever you want to do is fine with me Mary. I'll play Dad, or Step-Dad, or support you if you want to go through with the adoption. We can always have kids later if you still want do and the timing is better at a different time…"

She shook her head. "I'm almost forty, Marshall, and so are you. Time isn't exactly on our side here. Besides… the more I think about it, the more I realize that I don't think I can give my child away. But are you really okay with helping me raise another man's baby?"

"Fatherhood isn't about DNA, Mare, it's about who plays the role, and I highly doubt Mark is gonna step up to the plate here. I will be whatever you, and this baby, need me to be."

She nodded. "Okay. Well, last time I looked, people weren't generally eight months pregnant before announcing their feelings for each other, so this is gonna be a little unconventional, but let's see how it goes, I guess."

"Okay." Then my phone rang, again. This time I checked it. "It's Stan," I said, "you mind if I get it so he doesn't shoot me later?"

She smiled. "Sure."

I answered the phone, accepted the chewing-out I received from Stan for not answering my phone earlier without comment, and got the information that Grace was in labor…and that Mary was supposed to be her labor coach. "You want to tell her?" I asked Stan with no small amount of trepidation in my voice. He hung up on me. "Coward."

"What? Tell me what?" Mary was straddling the line between concerned and annoyed.

I cleared my throat. "Grace is in labor…and she wants you. Apparently you're the most…qualified."

"WHAT? I'm not qualified! I'm Unqualified. I only did one breathing class…. Jesus…"

I quickly decided the safest thing I could do would be to get the hell out of dodge, but I did so with a huge smile on my face. _Sometimes, _I thought to myself, _some things really are more important than the job. _

A/N: Okay, that was way cornier than I thought it was gonna be... Anyway, please review!


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